Cryptonomicon
by Nathanoraptor
Summary: You are about to enter a realm where fact meets fiction. Science meets legend. Where nightmares come to life. Do you believe? Welcome to the CRYPTONOMICON!


**Hi! I'm Nathanoraptor and this is my first fanfic, I've had the account for over a year (and posted a one-shot, which by the way, was a disastrous failure), but just haven't the time to write more stories, what with school and health problems, amongst other things. I don't own the Simpsons. Sadly, they belong to somebody else. And I don't own the cryptids; the planet does. I decided to change the rating to T, because there is gonna be a lot of gore in the story. I also decided to revise the foreword a bit, because I thought it was poorly worded and there was a lot more to say.**

Welcome to the Cryptonomicon

Cryptozoology. It's a word that most people are familiar with, but generally don't know what it means. Cryptozoology is the evaluation of evidence of animals that have not been scientifically verified or validated. These animals include Bigfoot, the Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster. These tales are about these creatures and the people they encounter.

The title comes from H. P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon, the "terrible, forbidden" book which contained the information to summon demons. Lovecraft's forbidden book was far more than a conventional spell book. Lovecraft, a brilliant writer, created the book, and the indecipherable nature of its contents, because he wanted to tap into the idea of what people fear most… the unknown and the impossible. For this menagerie of nightmares, the unknown is their natural habitat. They exist in the realm half-seen, prowling in the shadows… just out of sight. Because of all this, the title is extremely appropriate.

The classic pulp anthologies, anthologies to which Lovecraft frequently contributed, are the other main crux here. Whilst the pulp stories were set in the Golden Age of exploration, in the far-off realms of "Darkest Africa", here, it's a little different. Here, the creatures are dragged into a modern world, and left to roam as they please. The situation is reversed; instead of the humans entering the world of the unknown of their own volition, the creatures of the unknown enter our modern, structured world and cause havoc.

In these tales, we highlight a human element. That's what the best monster stories that inspired us did; showing how ordinary people's lives are changed forever when these creatures go on the attack. In these pages, you'll see two police officers who are called to investigate an extremely unusual case, you'll meet a girl whose "sweet 16" ends up being more eventful than she could imagine, you'll witness ordinary people caught up in the crossfire when they encounter these creatures. Some of these creatures exist via scientifically plausible means; others are more supernatural in origin. However, they are real, and that changes everything.

The majority of on-going fanfiction is returning series or genre pieces – putting your characters in detective stories, period dramas and the like. It's as if there's a constant pressure to reassure a nervous reader: to say look, it's chapter 40, it's got the same faces as last chapter, in the same town, with the same woes. You know you'll like this – because you've already read it.

For me the joy of shows like The Twilight Zone, such as Tales of the Unexpected, or Hammer House of Horror, or erstwhile "showcase slots" such as Playhouse Presents, was precisely that you hadn't already seen it. Every week you were plunged into a slightly different world. There was a signature tone to the stories, the same dark chocolate coating – but the filling was always a surprise.

That's what the Cryptonomicon is aiming for: each chapter has an alternating cast, a different setting, even a different reality. For example, Bart and Lisa may be children in one story and teenagers in the next. There is no continuity. However, all of these stories will make you question what precisely is real and the true natures of mythical beasts. You are about to enter a realm where fact meets fiction. Science meets legend. Where nightmares come to life. Welcome to the CRYPTONOMICON! Do you believe?


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